The Life and Times of Melanie Stone
by FireTurnsToAsh
Summary: When a mysterious, young girl rolls into town, nobody knows if they should trust her. But when she ends up saving Jeremy's life after a vampire hunting gone wrong, she makes him fall in love with her, but should he leave his heart on the line? (Jeremy/OC) Rated M for themes and sexual content
1. Prologue

**The Life and Times of Melanie Stone**

**Summary: **When a mysterious, young girl rolls into town, nobody knows if they should trust her. But when she ends up saving Jeremy's life after a vampire hunting gone wrong, she makes him fall in love with her, but should he leave his heart on the line?

**Prologue **

* * *

Jeremy sprinted frantically through the forest, ducking and dodging hanging branches and twigs. Whoever he had angered, they were coming after him with a vengeance.

He glanced behind him to see no one near him. He looked back in front of him and ran into what felt like a wall. His gaze met his tormentor who was now standing over him.

"Hello Gilbert." He said with a sneer. Jeremy recognised his face, but he didn't know him.

"Who are you?" he squinted at the man and tried to sit up.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" he placed his foot on Jeremy's chest and pushed him back down. "You're not going anywhere." He had a sadistic smirk on his face. "Not until I'm finished with you."

Jeremy closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst that could possibly happen, but instead the weight was lifted from his chest and in the background he could hear a thud.

* * *

He shot up and looked around to see an empty clearing. "Hello?" he got up looked around desperately. He ran in a random direction, hoping that he made the right choice. He turned sharply as he heard the sound of screaming. It pierced his ear drums and in that moment he realised who it was. '_Melanie.'_

* * *

By the time he got to her, it was too late. Her body was impaled onto a long branch of a tree. He looked at her limp body and the blood that was spilled onto the forest floor and closed his eyes. He didn't want to move her from the tree, he wouldn't be able to bare it; but he also couldn't leave her there.

"I'm so sorry Mel." He tried to keep back his tears as he began to pull her body off the branch. "Don't hate me for this." He gave one final hard tug and fell to the ground, her bleeding body on him.

* * *

Jeremy pushed her body off him and patted himself down quickly. He looked down at her already palling face and pushed her hair from her face. "I'll avenge you. It's what you'd want after all." He stroked her cold cheek and picked up her body, heading out of the forest.

Through her death, there would only be despair.


	2. Only the Beginning

**The Life and Times of Melanie Stone**

**Summary: **When a mysterious, young girl rolls into town, nobody knows if they should trust her. But when she ends up saving Jeremy's life after a vampire hunting gone wrong, she makes him fall in love with her, but should he leave his heart on the line?

**Only the Beginning**

* * *

Melanie watched her old life disappear into the fading background of her former home. Moving wasn't her idea, or her mother's; but was a strange concoction made by her seemingly happy step-father, Bill. She pretended like she had never heard him complain about their hometown of San Francisco, she even pretended like she hadn't searched his internet history and found the home that he had bought in Mystic Falls. The one thing that she made clear was the existence of vampires, especially in Mystic Falls. It's all she could talk about at the dinner table and during awkward silences.

One thing that the Stone's didn't know about their daughter was that she was able to do things that normal teenagers could not. She kept her abilities to herself, with the exception of her mentor.

* * *

"_So what is this you call it?" she leaned back in her chair, her leg draped over the arm of the chair. _

_Rodger watched her for a moment with slight disgust on his face. "You have a sixth sense, or extrasensory perception. This means you can move things with your mind, you can astral project; you can do anything that you set your mind to, with the correct and appropriate training of course."_

"_And where would I find this?" Melanie was sceptical. The only thing that she remembered having was an out of body experience, nothing more, and nothing less. But now she's being told she can do a whole lot more? It seemed crazy._

_Rodger leaned closer towards her. "I would help. There are very few of us that actually know what we have. I will help your abilities to flourish, if you let me."_

* * *

Roberta Stone watched her daughter as they pulled into the driveway of their new cottage. She was concerned for her, recently she had become distant. Was it because of her remarriage? Or the shock of moving away from her father and friends? Whatever it was, it caused her to act out. Late nights and plenty of boys was not a good sign, especially to a concerned mother.

"We're here." She forced a smile onto her face and turned to Melanie. "Are you ready to see inside your new home?"

"It's just a house, like all the other houses." She shrugged her shoulders and released her seatbelt from the fixed plug before exiting the car.

Roberta shared an uneasy glance with her husband and followed her daughter's lead.

"Are you not excited to make new friends?" Bill tried to make conversation with her, but it was shot down.

"When is my stuff getting here?" she turned to them, standing on the doorstep with her arms folded across her chest.

Roberta smiled and held onto Bill's arm. "You see, Bill called the removal company and asked them to bring our furniture down here a little earlier…" she looked up at him.

"And I've been travelling back and forth to get everything ready and set up."

"Well done Bill, you did something right for a change." She said, glancing up at the windows on the second floor. "Fancy opening this door today?"

She watched him as he fiddled with some keys before finding the correct one and placing it into the hole. Melanie knew she was hard on him, but it made him fight for her affection. She couldn't just hand it out on a silver platter, he wasn't her father; he wasn't even close. Yes her mother may have fell as a victim to his receding hairline and his corny jokes, but he would never be able to completely fill the figure her father presents.

Her father was a very dominant character.

* * *

As the night time came, she listened to her mother talk on the phone from the bathroom upstairs. Melanie stared at herself in the mirror and pulled a kit from the bag slumped in the corner.

She looked at the box with a sleeked smile. "A new place, a new style." She chanted quietly, willing herself to do the deed. She let out a breath of uneasiness and tried to calm her nerves. What was the worst that could happen?

"Purple? You dyed your hair purple!?" her mother yelled furiously. "Why would you do this to yourself?"

"Mother, please just calm down." She held her hands up in defence. "It's just my hair. _My_ hair." She stressed.

"You're not even eighteen yet; you cannot make these decisions without asking me."

"Deal with it." She remarked, looking her mother dead in the eyes. She wasn't going to let herself be pushed around. Melanie was almost an adult, and if she could be trusted to drive a car on a busy highway, she should be allowed to dye her own hair. It was one of the many things that Melanie had planned to do without her mother's permission, and she wasn't going to let her crazy family get in the way of what she wanted.

* * *

"It's like… It's like they don't even want me to have my own independence, you know?" she complained to Rodger. She could tell that he was bored by her, even though she couldn't see him. "Like they took me away from my home, my friends and my school work. They should at least let me be my own person for a little while. I'm almost eighteen for crying out loud!"

"Listen, take a deep breath and try to see it from their point of view."

"Of course you would side with them! Adults stick together and all that."

"No… Mel stop. I don't want you to lose your temper. You don't know what sort of power can come from that mind of yours if you don't keep a level head."

"You're right." She sighed a little and crawled into her bed.

"Of course I am. Now just get a good night's sleep, and if you don't feel relaxed in the morning, when everything's blown over then you can call me and complain all you want."

She laughed a little. "I will definitely do that. But I have school to worry about."

"Just enjoy your first day. Do all the things you've always wanted to do. You're a new girl; you can be who you want to be."

She thought for a moment, a smile appearing on her face. He was right. Nobody knew her; she could do whatever she wanted, say whatever she wanted, wear whatever she wanted and talk to who she liked.

* * *

The morning came too quickly and the small, annoying alarm by her bedside let her know about it. She rolled over and smacked the snooze button before her mother could hear it. But she was too late.

"Are you awake?"

"Barely." She groaned, pushing herself up. She leaped out of bed and stumbled to her wardrobe, picking out the first thing she could get her hands on. Her favourite off the shoulder top and a pair of shorts…Perfect. She threw them on and made her way into the bathroom, looking into the mirror with a displeased look. Melanie grabbed her make-up and worked it onto her face like she was painting a masterpiece.

* * *

Before leaving she brushed her teeth and pulled a couple of faces at herself then headed down the stairs, picking up her bag as she went.

"Would you like some breakfast?" Bill called out from the kitchen, holding the unappetising meal on a plate.

"I think I'll pass." She remarked, grabbing the car keys. The door slammed behind her and she made her way to the car, getting in as quickly as possible. She gripped onto the steering wheel and wished herself luck.

* * *

The foyer of the high school was buzzing as old friends reunited with one another. This is what it should've been like for Melanie back in San Francisco, not being the outsider in a small town. She leant against a wall with her arms crossed, surveying the area silently.

"You must be new because I would've noticed someone like you."

She looked up at a tall guy, blonde hair and blue eyed. He was a jock and she could tell by his muscles and varsity jacket. He seemed like a creepy guy, but he was her ticket out of loneliness. She smiled at him and turned to look at him fully.

"As a matter of fact, I am new." She held out her hand. "My name's Melanie."

He took her hand with a smirk and shook it gently. "I'm Nick. So, how about I give you a tour of the school?"

"Sounds good." She linked her arm with his and looked up at him. "Lead the way."

* * *

Jeremy through his old books into his locker and shut the door, spinning the combination dial. He hated school; he had too much on his mind, especially with the hunter's curse starting to take its toll. It was the last place he wanted to be.

"And these are the lockers. It's usually where people meet up after classes." Jeremy turned to see Nick with a new girl.

Melanie stared at Jeremy, smiling a little and looked up at Nick. "I know, I have went to a school before." She glanced back at Jeremy, rolling her eyes a little. Jeremy smirked a little and shrugged a little, trying not to get noticed by the jock twice his size.

"Yeah well… Moving on. Down here's the canteen. The food's not good but you get used to it." He went on, talking about all these things that Melanie really didn't care about. What she did care about was this guy she had made eye contact with. Melanie had seen him before in one of her special dreams. There was something about him that drew her attention on a supernatural basis. She'd have something to tell Rodger later. Maybe he could shed some light on this.


	3. Hunter Being Hunted

**The Life and Times of Melanie Stone**

**Summary: **When a mysterious, young girl rolls into town, nobody knows if they should trust her. But when she ends up saving Jeremy's life after a vampire hunting gone wrong, she makes him fall in love with her, but should he leave his heart on the line?

**Hunter Being Hunted**

* * *

"I saw a boy today, he's different." She started, twirling the phone cord around her small fingers.

She heard Rodger sigh loudly and she could only imagine him taking off his thick framed glasses and rubbing his eyes. He wasn't one for girl talk.

"I didn't give you my number so we could talk about hot boys and all that."

"If you'd let me finish, you'd know that I'm not talking about 'hot boys' as you say… Although he was easy on the eye…" Melanie began to drift into sweet thoughts of Jeremy Gilbert, she had found out his name that day from a girl in her maths class.

"Get to the point." He said bluntly, clearly losing his head with her.

"I saw him in one of my dreams, although I swear he's been in more than one."

"Well it could be a sign. Do your dreams tell a story?"

"Yeah, it says we're going to get married and have lots of kids together." She said sarcastically.

"Obviously they aren't going to be clear stories at first, but the events that happen in your dreams will happen in reality and once you learn how to pick out the sequences, you'll be able to serve your dream's purposes." He explained.

"I'll try and remember what they were. I know that the first one was about me seeing him in a crowded area, and well that happened."

"Great! Now remember the rest and follow them. The opportunities won't jump out at you, it doesn't work like that. Create your own path."

"You know me, I'll do that anyway." She got up and walked around her room. "Shall I call you tomorrow and tell you how it goes or what?"

"Call me in a week or so. You may be surprised by this, but I have my own life."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' was still being re-ran. You golden oldies love that show." She teased, biting her tongue to stop herself from laughing.

"You're such a sweetheart. Listen, I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, bye." She put the phone down and sat on her bed, biting her lip. She was bored, and when she was bored, reckless things began to happen, and one of those reckless things was going to happen tonight.

* * *

Melanie sat up when she heard the sound of car tyres screech to a halt outside her window. A moment later, she got a text from Nick saying that he was outside. She tried to open her window without the latches squealing. Once the window was wide enough she made her way through it, placing her feet on the awning above the front door.

Nick watched her with a smirk, pleased with the sight he got. Her short skirt rolled even further up her thigh as she tried to walk down the slope slowly and safely.

"You're so graceful!" he called up, but he was hushed quickly.

"My mum's still awake you idiot." She jumped off the roof and landed awkwardly, twisting her ankle. "A little help?" she held out her hand for him.

"What do you want me to do?" he walked over to her, looking at her ankle.

"Can you carry me?" she smiled up at him. She watched his worried expression turn into a smirk.

"Of course, let's put these muscles to good use." He flexed his arms before scooping her off the ground.

Melanie tried not to roll her eyes and squeezed his bicep, pleased with the size of his arms. "You are a strong boy, aren't you?"

Nick opened the back door of the car and gently placed her inside. "I'll let you lie down, you know, until your ankle heals." He walked around the car until he got to his door; it gave Melanie the chance to fix her skirt and hair. "So where are we going?"

"I was thinking the forest, just so we can have the privacy to get to know each other." He caught a glimpse of Nick from the rear-view mirror. He was smirking, clearly enjoying the thought of privacy with Melanie.

"To the forest it is…"

* * *

The sound of the chiming doorbell echoed through the house. Jeremy could hear Elena's footsteps upstairs as she walked towards the landing. "Jer, will you get the door? It's Matt."

"Oh yeah, he's probably here about the leads on that vampire that's terrorising the town." He replied after getting off his comfortable seat and opened the door to his sidekick.

"Hey, I found something in the forest; I don't think you're going to like it."

"What is it?" Jeremy grabbed his jacket from the rack beside the door and walked out of the house, following his friend to the car.

"I found a girl tied to a tree. I think she's compelled."

"Did you let her go?" the jumped into the car and raced off towards the forest.

"Yeah I did. Damon's with her now trying to get some clues out of her." Matt turned to Jeremy. "Whoever this vampire is, he's brilliant at disappearing acts."

"We'll find him, and when we do, I can finally put an end to this on-going nightmare." He ran his fingers through his greasy hair, thinking about this unknown vampire. Whoever they were, they would put up an epic fight.

* * *

He watched her as they sat in the back of his parent's car, a hand holding hers while the other stroked her bronzed thigh. Nick tried to make her look at him, but her mind was somewhere else, thinking about someone else.

"Why did you call me? A pretty girl like you must have plenty of people to hang out with." He stated.

Melanie rolled her dark grey eyes to look at him and smiled the sweetest smile he had ever seen. "You would think that, but I don't. Besides, why would I spend my time with anyone else when I've got you?" She placed her dainty hand on his warm cheek. He was almost blushing.

It was the first time she had ever made a boy blush, and it wouldn't be her last.

Nick moved his hand higher up her thigh and watched her. "How about we get down to doing what you called me out to do?"

She laughed and rested her head on the seat. "Do you really think that I'm going to give my virginity away in the back of a car?" She leaned into him and whispered, "I have more class than that." She pulled his hand out from under her skirt and placed it on his own knee. "Besides, you have to date me before I'll give it to you. Prove to me that you deserve it. Work for it."

He raised his eyebrow a little in confusion. "So you didn't call me out here to-"

Melanie placed her finger over his lips and shook her head. "No, I just wanted to talk to someone... Get out of the house for a while..." She admitted with a pleased smirk. "You were my first choice. I knew you would make me happy."

"And have I?" Nick wanted to please this girl. There was something about her; Melanie wasn't like other girls. She had an edge about her.

She shrugged a little playfully and yawned. "I suppose."

"Are you tired? Do you want me to take you home?"

"No… No. How about we have a nap together?"

He smiled and nodded, placing his arm around her. "Yeah, let's nap." He let her move around to get comfortable and stroked her soft hair until she fell asleep. If he was going to get her, and keep her with him, he'd have to pull out all the stops on their date, if she agreed to go with him.

* * *

"_Run Jeremy!" a guy called out from the distance. His voice echoed in the almost empty forest. They were coming to a clearing and there was nowhere to hide. _

_Jeremy kept his grip tight on Melanie's hand as they ran past the trees and onto the empty ground. Someone was approaching them, running. She was scared and holding onto his arm. As the dark figure walked closer to them, Jeremy stood in front of her, protecting her. _

"_Leave the girl alone! Take me instead and deal with the hunters curse!" Jeremy called out. The figure took his offer and darted towards them. As he got closer Jeremy pushed Melanie away, towards the trees. "Run! Go!"_

_She nodded and made a mad dash for the trees, but from behind her, she could hear the sound of blood squirting out of an open wound. Melanie stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Jeremy. The figure was feasting on his neck; Jeremy was on his knees, almost dead. As he looked at her, for what would be his final time, his eyes became colder until his life faded from his body. He was dead._

_The figure pushed Jeremy's limp body to the ground and stepped over him, making his way for Melanie. She let out an ear piercing scream…_


	4. Saving a Life

**The Life and Times of Melanie Stone**

**Summary: **When a mysterious, young girl rolls into town, nobody knows if they should trust her. But when she ends up saving Jeremy's life after a vampire hunting gone wrong, she makes him fall in love with her, but should he leave his heart on the line?

**Saving a Life**

* * *

Melanie woke up, gasping for air. Nick propped her up and rubbed her back tenderly. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"What time is it?" she watched him as he reached for his phone and grabbed it out of his hand. "I hope I'm not too late." She opened the door and fell out of it, clawing at the ground as she stood up.

"Melanie! Melanie, what are you doing!? Are you crazy?" Nothing that he said made her stop running deeper into the dark forest.

* * *

Jeremy was left to stand alone with the girl; Damon and Matt decided to search the area for this seasoned murderer. The young woman looked like she was drugged, but she was actually low on blood. She couldn't stand still; swaying from side to side as she blankly stared at the ground. There was something seriously wrong with her.

"Listen, you don't have to stand. You can sit if you need to."

She looked at him and laughed hysterically. "Don't you think that if I could sit, I would?"

He raised his eyebrow and looked at her closely. "What do you mean?"

"I physically can't sit down. I don't know what's wrong with me." She shook her head and grabbed a chunk of hair.

"Just take a few deep breaths, we'll help you okay? Just trust us."

The girl nodded and looked over Jeremy's shoulder. Her face said it all. She was terrified by what she saw. Him; the man that had been terrorising her and everyone else; the man they had been searching for was here, and he was coming for Jeremy.

"It's… It's him." She whispered. "He's behind you."

Jeremy looked behind him, sizing him up. He looked strong, powerful and too much for Jeremy to take on by himself. He had to get the girl and himself to safety.

* * *

He dragged her behind him, trying to get away as fast as he could but she was weighing her down. She was too weak to carry her own weight, let alone run. She needed somewhere to hide, and Jeremy knew exactly where to put her.

Underground, in the old Lockwood hideout is where he put her. "Stay here, don't move. I'll come back for you." He gave her a reassuring smile and ran back out into the forest, frantically searching for his nemesis.

* * *

Melanie ran through the woods, looking around for Jeremy, hoping that she wasn't too late to save him. But then she saw him standing in the middle of a colony of trees. She sprinted towards him, overjoyed to see that she wasn't too late; that she could still save him and so thankful that she had a glimpse of what was to come. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed her eyes shut.

"You're safe." She held onto him tightly. "You're still alive."

"What are you doing here?" he looked down at her and held her at arm's length.

"There's no time to explain, but I promise that I'll tell you anything you want to know." She started to run and stopped when she realised that he wasn't following her. "You can trust me."

He thought for a moment and glanced behind him before hearing some branches snap. He ran behind her, trying to keep at her pace.

* * *

She stopped at the clearing, back where it all started. Melanie bent over and put her hands on her thighs, trying to get her breath back. "Oh man! That's the fastest I've ran in a while."

Jeremy sat down and looked at her. "So who are you?"

"My name's Melanie and you probably recognise me because I go to your school."

"You're that girl that hangs around with that Nick guy."

"Yeah… I am." She sighed and remembered that she left him in the car.

"How did you know where I was?"

"Funny thing is I was looking for you for a while. And this will sound even funnier but I had a dream that you were going to get murdered by some guy." She looked around slowly. "But now that I think about it… My dream didn't start back there… It happened here." She started to walk back into the forest, leaving Jeremy to sit and take everything she said in.

"So wait, you dreamt that I was going to die? And what's it to you if I die?" he got up and followed her as she trekked deeper inside the darkness.

"Well I would rather not have any one die when I have the ability to stop it."

"So it's got nothing to do with me? You just don't want to lose a life?"

"Kinda. It's hard to explain."

"Explain it. You said you'd tell me anything."

"Yeah bu-" She was cut off by the sound of a groaning.

* * *

"That sounds like Damon." He pushed past her and found his way to his fallen friend. "What happened to you?"

"That vampire got me." Damon looked down at his wound and shook his head. "He got me pretty good."

"Where is he now?" Jeremy looked around and kneeled beside Damon, tending to his wound.

"Listen, just get out of here. I'll heal quickly. But I don't dead teenagers everywhere."

Jeremy nodded and looked at Melanie. "Let's get out of here." He led her back the way they came, but from the distance they could hear Damon shouting.

"Run Jeremy!"

* * *

Jeremy grabbed her hand and ran as fast as he could. Everything that was going on gave Melanie a sense of déjà vu. She started to lose sense of what was happening and before she knew it they were blocked off with nowhere to go. She held onto his arm, terrified as the man they were running from came closer towards them.

"Run! Go!" he said to her, trying to push her away but she held on.

"That's how you died in my dream. I'm staying!"

"Well now we're both going to die. What're we going to do?" Jeremy looked down at her, meeting her eyes. She was frowning, her forehead was creased and he could see her shaking.

"I'll distract him. You need to go." She nodded and took a deep breath, picking up a sharp rock from the ground. "Go, please. I'll be fine."

"Are you crazy!?" he tried to take the rock from her hand, but she resisted.

"Yes I am." She pushed him away with all her force and placed the rock on her arm, slicing it open in one movement. She watched as the vampire looked from Jeremy to her, the veins rising under his eyes. She gave him one last glance before running in the opposite direction.

Jeremy watched, planning to run after her, but he could hear Matt calling his name.

* * *

"So she cut her arm and ran?" Matt raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked at Damon. "Sounds pretty badass to me."

"She may be badass, but what if she's a dead badass? Do you even know who she is?"

"All I know is that her name is Melanie." Jeremy sighed and rubbed his forehead. "What if she is dead?"

"I guess we wait until Monday morning." Damon looked at them both. "If she isn't there… Then she's dead."


End file.
